Category Archives: Legit

Why it’s Important to be a Foodie While Losing Weight

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“Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way”

-Pink Floyd

We spend so much of our lives on the run: we post our thoughts instantaneously on Facebook, we eat lunch at our desks, and we even buy microwaves on Amazon to avoid going to the store and picking one out. Humans have become machines of efficiency, or so we think. We do these things because we value our time so much and so we will do whatever it takes to be “efficient” so we can cherish that precious free time. And let’s not kid ourselves, that precious free time ends up being lost on hours of looking at cats on Buzzfeed. With this desire for control of our time by being efficient comes a potential decrease in quality of life. And yes, since this is the FFK, I am talking about food.

TvdinnerIn 1953, Swanson (no, not my boy Alex, the Legend) created the first TV Dinner, a compartmentalized food tray chocked full of your essential food groups. Your serving of vegetables, starch, protein, and dessert were all prepared in one fell swoop. No need to use and wash multiple pans and utensils, when you were done, you just threw it all away! When the TV Dinner was a commercial success, some people cried foul and compared it to a chemistry set. In order to preserve these meals, not only would it lose its nutrients, they would have to inject it with partially hydrogenated oils and trans fats. Sure the convenience made the TV Dinner, but at what cost?

We see the same issue with fast food in the 40’s with the first McDonald’s (no relation). Brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald utilizes the classic Henry Ford assembly line production model to build their food at a fasted speed. Thus, fast food was born. And our waistlines have been growing ever since. Just ask the FFK from high school who would go a few miles out of his way to order four double cheeseburgers a day at McDonald’s because it was fast and it was cheap.

Somewhere along the way of my life, I completely lost my appreciation for food. Like I’ve said before on this blog, I was proud of my eating accomplishments. I ate a whole large Pizza Pro pizza in 6th grade because I could. I couldn’t beat anyone at a race, but I could sure as heck beat them at eating something. Until three years ago, I abused food the way other people abuse drugs. I don’t say that to make light of drug abuse, it was truly something I did. I would eat until it hurt, and then kept eating because it made me feel good.

When I took a step back and evaluated my eating, I recognized the need for a balance in my life. I needed to be okay with eating pseudo-boring meals like chicken and veggies or turkey burgers so I could enjoy the meals that mattered like eating out with friends or making dinner at home with my boo. I needed to be more judicious with my food intake. With that selective mindset, Megan and I were on the path to a complete overhaul of our eating. One of those ways is by eating more local and organic foods. (Read about our Orchard Pond farm share here!) My Earth Fare brand ambassadorship has been instrumental in that process.

eatTonight, we bought grass-fed NY strip steaks from the Earth Fare butcher, along with some potatoes for baking. Instead of using charcoal, the easier and quicker way to grill, I used pecan wood chunks that I bought at Academy for almost nothing on Memorial Day. I essentially started a campfire in my Weber and let it burn until the wood transformed into beautiful glowing embers. Then I put on the steaks, that had just a pinch of sea salt and seasoning on the opposite side of grill and opened the top vent. Then I added the baked potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil. The whole process took probably close to an hour, but the finished product…well, the photo speaks for itself. Not to brag, (but I will) it was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. Maybe it tasted better because of the whole process that it took to get it on the table, but it was worth it.

Tonight was one of those nights where I truly appreciated every bite. You have to appreciate your food so you don’t abuse it. Treat your body well by fueling it right because you are worth it.

 

 

Eating Local and Other Things

Aside

Why hello, dear reader!

I would like to tell you that I am out of this weird weight loss/blogging funk that I have been in, but I would be lying. I really have no clue what’s up. Luckily, I think things are starting to slow down at work (or if anything, reach a normal pace) so that should help with the blogging and such. Where I have been lacking in writing, I have been making it up with exercising! I have been working since the beginning of the month to to active for at least an hour a day. Even if I’m not getting ripped, I just feel better. It’s been a great way just to decompress from the day. Like tonight, instead of watching a two-hour block of Seinfeld, I went for a walk in the nature trail behind our house. It felt amazing to just reflect on the day and think about my goals, both weight loss related and not weight loss related.

Weight Loss Update
WISo this past week, I did my share of scale peeking. I checked out the scale every morning. It didn’t help me at all, it just made by Saturday morning full of angst and frustration. Then, I got on the scale at Weight Watchers and I had lost 1.6 pounds this week! I’m still a little that I’m the 230’s again, but I’m getting there. I’m okay with being patient as long as I’m making progress. Not just with the scale, but with my actions as well.

With that all being said, I had a pretty epic and brunchtastic cheat day on Sunday. I’m still kind of reeling from eating all the things. I’m definitely working on self control. To help recover from the week, I have decided to stay out of my weekly points as much as possible. I still have Activity Points if I need them (all the more reason to exercise this week.)

Weekends are going to be a challenge from here on in because it is FOOTBALL SEASON!!! Tailgating is about eating all the things. It will be a challenge, but I have been able to handle it in the past. Why should it be any different now?

 

 

 

 

So Nathan, what’s this whole “eating local” thing you’re talking about?
Orchard PondGreat question!
So over the past (almost) three years, we have tried to make the shift towards eating organic more produce and meat. For me, it’s more than the avoidance of using antibiotics and pesticides, it just flat out tastes better and when it tastes better, you’re going to eat it!
One thing we love about living in Tallahassee is the amazing system of farmers markets. We can get in-season Georgia peaches, fall squash and even grass-fed beef for about the same price of regular beef at the supermarket! This week, we took our locavoring a step further by joining a community farm share. Before you ask, no, we are not joining some farming commune where we recycle our own toilet paper. Simply put, we paid for three months worth of locally grown fruits and veggies from organic farms around the area. Every other week, we will go to the farmers market and pick up a reusable bag full of deliciousness. What’s in it, you ask? It depends on the season!

 

 

 

 

CSA SpreadHere is our spread for this week. Some of it you might recognize, some you might not.
This week, we had:

Eggplant (Orchard Pond Organics)

Okra (Orchard Pond Organics)

Sweet Potato Greens (Orchard Pond Organics)

Basil (Orchard Pond Organics)

Muscadine Grapes (Ladybrid Organics, Monticello,FL)

Bell Pepper (Orchard Pond Organics)

Along with: Avocados, Gala Apples, Pears, Nectarine and Pluots

The fun part of this farm share is that it forces you to try new things like Muscadine grapes (a sour fruit that is usually turned into a preserve) and sweet potato greens (which you cook with oil like collard greens). I love a good challenge.

pickled okraWhen I opened the bag and saw okra, I thought “we have to pickle these!!!” So we got on the interwebs, found a pickling recipe and got to work! We also added a sliced jalapeno (also from the farmers market) and some garlic cloves to give the okra a little more flavor. They are delciously hot and it was soooooo easy! It’s just another great way to have fun with your food and to appreciate where our food actually comes from.

So that has been my week. I’m running a 5k tomorrow night to support the FSU College of Criminology & Criminal Justice and their efforts to raise money for a fallen officer memorial on campus. Should be a blast! Oh, and hot. See ya later.

 

 

 

 

 

The Return of the FFK

Aside

If you were to ask me about what it’s like to lose weight, the answer would have varied throughout this almost-three year journey. When I first started out, I would have said “it’s simple! You just don’t eat the bad things, work out whenever you can and drink a crapton of water.” When I hit a pretty massive plateau after I hit the 100 pound mark, I would have said “it’s kind of miserable when your friends who are eating what they want while you’re eating celery in the corner and fighting to lose half a pound.” This morning, I got on the scale, cringed at the sight of myself in the mirror and said aloud “I hate weight loss so much right now.”

Since I have joined Weight Watchers, I have lost as much as 12 pounds, but really I have lost a total of 17 pounds. My weight fluctuates….badly. If I have learned anything in the past three years, it’s that my body hates sodium and will retain and hold water like the Hoover Dam. I will do really well and then I’ll eat a unseemingly salty meal and then BOOM, five pounds up.
(Before you start to write a comment about importance/unimportance of the scale, let me stop you there and say it is just a part of the equation because I can feel that extra weight and see that extra weight in the mirror.)

At this point, it is more than the scale or retaining water, at this point I just mad at myself for eating bad things that aren’t inherently bad. For example: Cheerios. In the world of cereals, Cheerios would not be on George W. Crispies’ list of Cereal Axis of Evil. But when I binge on two-larger-than-normal bowls of those delicious O’s, it is bad news. Last night, I just binged snacked all night when watching TV. It was just mindless eating. I saw the carrots and the apples when I was getting the milk for my cereal out of the fridge, but I still went the other way.

I think the fact of the matter is that I’m tired. It feels like the past three years of grad school, work, church responsibilities, exercising, being social, and counting points have finally caught up to me. I was on the verge of just burning out on life. Yesterday, I did a lot of thinking about where to go from here because I had two options: just quit and see where that would take him (spoilers: emotional breakdown leading to the demise of my weight loss journey) or reflect on how blessed I truly am and how I should quit taking it for granted and then make that the catalyst for my continued success. Fortunately, I went with the later. After I put this whole weight loss/life thing in to that perspective, that so far, it has been such an awesome journey, it has challenged me to make the most of it and to keep going!

So What’s Been Going On With The FFK?
Well I guess I should update you on what’s going on since it has been so long since I’ve posted.
First, I bought a Weight Watchers ActiveLink that tracks your daily activity. The goal is to reach 100% of your baseline activity. For me, that’s about an hour of activity (walking, running, swimming, etc.). At the end of the day, you plug it in to the USB port of your computer and it tells you how many Activity Points (or Weight Watchers Points) you have earned for the day. My goal this month is to reach at least 100% every day. That is going to force me to do some sort of activity because one the days I was just working and then going home, I would only do 9 minutes of activity on those days according to the ActiveLink.

Second, I signed up for the Tallahassee Half Marathon in February! Not only is this the 40th Tallahassee Half Marathon, the featured speaker this year is one of my running heroes, Bart Yasso from Runner’s World. I read his book last summer that documents his journey from being a drug addict to a world-renowned runner. He is truly inspiring! I had thought about doing the full, but I’m going to hold off until I hit my goal weight. The arthritis in my knees and my hips is still an issue, but my doctor said a lot of those problems will be reduced when I lost the rest of my weight. Plus, I feel like I would have needed to have started my training in April to feel truly prepared for a full marathon.
When I trained last time, I didn’t do near enough cross training or weights to get my body in shape for the run. I had the endurance, but I knew there was room for improvement. That if my body was in better shape, then my form would have been better and my finishing time would have been better.

Finally, I have a job that I absolutely love, but it takes up a lot of my time…in the best possible way. I work in a place that not only promotes service, leadership and inclusion to the Florida State community, it fosters a community of passion where its workers are encouraged to be themselves. I get to go to work every day doing what I love. When you do something you love, you are willing to stay after hours and go that extra mile for your job. That does, however, take its toll. When I get home, the last thing I really want to do is look at a computer screen and type some more. So what does that mean for this blog? Probably not daily posts, but an integrated approach where my reporting will be both on here and on my Facebook page. I’m definitely going back to a weigh-in day post on Saturdays that recaps the whole week as well. I love blog writing. I really do. But now I’m just going to have to fit it in to my schedule better than I have.

I hope this hodgepodge of a post makes some shred of sense. It’s been a weird time for me, but I still love being a weight loser and I still love being awesome. So I guess I’ll keep doing that. See ya tomorrow.

***Editor’s Note***
This post was written in two different stages: pre-stressed Nathan and post-self reflection Nathan. If there seems to be an issue of flow, that is why. Nathan would also like to add that he appreciates all of his readers and friends who have checked up on him during this long period of absence. He hopes he is as good to his friends as they are as good to him.

Back on Track

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Why hello everyone!

So I haven’t been posting because my family has been in town and I’ve been at Disney for the past few days. It was such a blast and a blessing being with my parents and sister! It has been too long!

This trip definitely felt more like a vacation than past Disney trips: we were staying on property (in the freakin’ Polynesian!!!!!), we ate in the parks and I was in the “I’m going to treat myself” mode from the first meal on. If I did anything right on this trip, it was that I found the closest Weight Watchers location (which is super close) and weighed in on Saturday like I would any other Saturday morning.  It kept me accountable, so even if I did overindulge on a cookie or three, I was in the mindset of how could make better decisions at the next meal. I did have access to free fruit all weekend which was awesome (club level yo!) so I took full advantage of that. Then…we walked all the miles and we swam in all the pools (not to mention going up all the stairs to get to the water slide. My Dad and I easily went on the slide 15+ times.)

I think if I would do it over again, I would have:

  • stuck with my snacks of celery and peanut butter
  • ate more dry salad before every meal (which I did the first day. Via Napoli in the Italy Pavilion has an amazing family salad…but they also have pizza made of crack and unicorn tears)
  • did a little morning cardio or something to pad the ol’ activity points
  • and limited myself to one splurge meal a day instead of splurging a little each meal

I absolutely do not regret how I did because it was a vacation and sometimes you have to splurge to get back to where you need to be. With that being said, you have to be okay with the consequences, good or bad.

Screen Shot 2013-08-06 at 9.33.20 PMWhen I was driving back to the resort before the sun came up on Saturday, I realized how much I really do want to reach my goal. For a long time, I have been just letting myself plateau while making some progress here and there. What I know is that I like seeing the scale going down. So I’m back on track and ready for action. Wednesday’s post will be full of Disney photos and a video announcing our Earth Fare winners! See ya tomorrow.

[GIVEAWAY] Earth Fare Deliciousness!

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Hello dear reader!

It’s truly amazing how awesome your body feels when you treat your body like the temple that it is. Like I read today on someone’s post, “treat your body well because you’re the one living in it!” When I look back and think about how I treated my body for so long, it just makes me even more thankful for that bold decision I made on September 18, 2010 to change my life. Almost three years and 130 pounds later, it was still the best decision I have ever made.

So enough about that. Let’s talk about Earth Fare AND MY AWESOME EARTH FARE GIFT TO YOU!

I have always been some sort of a foodie. When I was obese, I dreamed of going on to Man v. Food and showing Adam Richman how to really eat like boss. I was all about going to all you can eat restaurants and getting my money’s worth and then some. I treated like every meal was my last meal. At the rate I was going, it easily could have been.

But that all changed when I began this weight loss journey.

I’ll never forget the first time I walked in to Earth Fare. “What is that smell?” I asked. “It smells…fresh.” Produce. I was smelling produce. The fruits and veggies were like nothing I had smelled before. I mean, I had had fresh vegetables before, but WOW! Then…I saw the meat market. It was beautiful.

I was so happy with Earth Fare, I e-mailed them about my experience and my story. Then, they published it on their page! (You can read it here!)

So a few months ago, I applied for their Earthlete program, their ambassador program that celebrates athletes that are fueled by eating healthy. I’m not gonna lie, I really didn’t think I was going to get it. BUT I DID!!!!! and it has pushed me to get fit in the gym and lose weight in the kitchen.

Which leads us to today.

This weekend, I got an email from Earth Fare that said they had something waiting for me at Earth Fare: COUPONS!!! Now I love a good deal. Like The Wolf always says, “You gotta be a Baller on a budget yo!” (Okay, she doesn’t say it exactly like that…)

CouponSo I am giving away some coupons and some delicious Earth Fare swag!
That’s right! I have a giant stack of these bad boys and I’m ready to give them out to you, dear reader!

What does that include, you asked? (or read, I guess…)
Organic DealWell, for only $5, you get:

Earth Fare Organic Jelly
Earth Fare Organic or Natural Cookies
Earth Fare Organic or Natural Peanut Butter
Earth Fare Organic or Natural Applesauce
Earth Fare Organic or Natural Crackers

That’s a savings of more than $15!!!

All you have to do is:
Like The FFK FB Page and then comment below with your favorite FFK post!!! To be eligible, you have to do both!

There will be five randomly-selected winners. Each winner will get to pick the item of their choice from those five items!
The deadline for this giveaway is Sunday, July 28th at 11:59 p.m.
If you don’t win, no big! I will be happy to give you a coupon for your own 5 dollar Organic Deal!
(Note: if you would like a coupon, you must live in the Tallahassee area but anyone can win the items!)

Plus, I’ll have another giveaway soon. Stay tuned for that! 

This week, starting tomorrow, I’ll highlight each of the items in the deal.

See ya tomorrow!

Sunday Stuff!

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(Not sure what day it is…I need to figure that out.)

Hello everyone!

I’m watching the King of the Hill episode when Bobby has to buy clothes at the fat kid store H. Dumpty’s and I’m having childhood obesity PTSD right now. I’m so glad I’ll never have to shop at a Casual Male or any of those incredibly uncomfortable palaces of stretchable polyester ever again. 

Alright, back to other things and stuff.

Today was a bit of a food challenge but we totally got through it! I forgot how counting points makes such a difference instead of just saying “merh…I’ll just wing it.” I’m also not as tempted to peek on the scale anymore. I don’t have to. I know that if I stay within my points, the rest will follow. This feels amazing. Weight Watchers Points Plus is the bomb!!! (And no, I’m not getting paid to say that.)

So here is the breakdown of the day:

Breakfast
A delicious cookie from my friend Cynthia: 2PP
Maple Ginger Dreaming Cow yogurt: 3 PP
A slice of Ezekiel bread with spray butter: 2 PP

Lunch
We went to lunch at Bandido’s with the always-awesome Julie and Melissa the fantastic!  My eyes were bigger than my stomach so I ordered a breakfast burrito and a bean burrito. I ate the breakfast burrito and was ridiculously stuffed (Mexican food is my kryptonite…or gluttonite). So after I was done, I added it all up in my Weight Watchers app. I didn’t feel guilty, I felt good knowing the points of what I was eating. I felt accountable to myself. Something that I haven’t been in a while. 33 PP

Dinner
After a doing a good chunk of housework, I just made a Smart One since I didn’t have too many points left at that point.
Teryaki Smart One: 6 PP
Cereal: 3 PP
Two peaches: 0 PP
Non-fat French Onion dip with sliced cucumbers: 1 PP

Total for the day
50 PP 

I ended up using 2 PP which is fine. That’s what they’re there for!

Tomorrow’s a new day. Make it awesome. See ya tomorrow.

It Feels Like Day 1 All Over Again…

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Welcome to the beginning of something great.

I woke up this morning with purpose. This was the start of a new chapter of my journey. And I’ve never been so excited.

Welcome to Day 1…again.

Let’s start at the beginning!

Breakfast
A White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif Bar that actually tasted like a doughnut! (Or maybe it did because I wanted it to so badly…) 7PP

Snack
3 tbsp of almonds which was perfect for a snack with my straight-black coffee around 10 am  3PP

FishLunch
I had a 8PP Lean Cuisine Parmesean Baked Fish with pasta. It was surprisingly delicious! I also has two servings of Chick-O-Sticks which was 4 PP. For a pre-workout snack, I had a 3 PP serving of peanut butter with celery!

So excitedExercise!!!
I know…I love ridiculously insane in this photo. I think I was just that excited to work out after work! Today, I did 15 minutes on the row machine until my arms starting spelling out words with my veins under my skin. After that, I went over and climbed the Empire State Building on the Stairmaster. No big.
When I got home, I drank all the water and ate two peaches (which were no points!)
9 Activity points!

Dinner
Megan cooked up some delicious rotini with some spaghetti sauce and these awesome chicken sausages from Sam’s Club. Oh yeah, and A LOT of broccoli (also no points!) For dessert, three little Chick-O-Sticks which were just enough sweetness to feel like actual dessert. 15 PP

So today I got to 40 PP today which is 11 under my goal. I’m not really hungry because the fruits and veggies keep me so full! I might have a little something later, but right now I’m good! Awesome first day!

Now…about the weigh-in situation

A lot of you had a lot of opinions and suggestions and I thank you all for commenting!
After thinking it over and talking to Megan (always ask your best friend for advice!) I will officially be weighing in at our Saturday morning Weight Watchers meetings. The more I thought about, the idea of having multiple weigh in’s every week would get incredibly annoying and ridiculous. I have committed to Weight Watchers and this new chapter in my weight loss so I need to give it all over to it which includes weighing in. I’m also going to avoid getting on my scale through out the week. There’s no reason to do that to myself (thanks for helping me realize that Brooke!)

So here is the skinny of it all. Yesterday’s weigh in is my weigh in for the week. I was 237.8 which means I was up 11.4 pounds from the Tuesday before last (yikes…) Saturday is my new weigh in day so expect a weigh in day post this Saturday, the start of a new weight loss week. See ya tomorrow.

Have a question for the FFK? Ask me in the comments below! I have a feeling tomorrow’s post will have a video… 🙂